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Senator Buckley Attends Evelyn M Williams Elementary Pep Rally
Awards Black History Month Essay Contest Participants
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FREDERIKSTED, ST. CROIX - March 19, 2013
On Friday, March 15, 2013 Senator Judi Buckley and staff attended the Evelyn M. Williams Elementary School VITAL (V.I. Territorial Assessment of Learning Exam) Pep Rally to recognize and award participating students in her office's Black History Month Essay Contest. The Senator and her staff were warmly welcomed by students in grades four through six.
The essay contest kicked off Senator Buckley's Adopt-a-School Initiative. As part of her continuing dedication to improving our island's public school system, the Senator officially "adopted" Evelyn M. Williams Elementary School shortly after her inauguration. By focusing on this one school, the Senator intends to assess student and faculty needs in order to better understand the needs of the overall public school system.
"When I was a member of the St. Croix Women's Initiative and provided the weekly reader called "Time for Kids" to the entire school, Evelyn Williams was the school I was assigned to - so it made sense to continue working with this school to help meet needs of the faculty and students, and also help get others involved in this effort. I am really looking forward to getting to know the students and hearing from them what they need" stated Senator Buckley.
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Senator Buckley with student participants in the Black History Month Essay Contest
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The Black History Month Essay Contest was presented to students in the fourth, fifth and sixth grades. Each student was required to write a 100-word, hand-written essay on the following topics:
- Fourth Grade: Favorite Black Entertainer
- Fifth Grade: Favorite Black Local Hero
- Sixth Grade: Favorite Black Writer
Students were asked to write about why they chose the person and how that figure influenced their own life.
"I chose Whitney Houston because she was driven to fight homelessness and health issues plaguing young children. I got influenced because through her struggles, she kept God constant in her life." wrote Fourth Grade winner, SaVaughna Dasani John-Baptiste.
Fifth Grade winner, Dwayna Byrde, wrote about her favorite black local hero, Rev. Dr. Conard Spencer. "... He also influenced me in praying and putting God first. He also encourages parents to let their children do homework assignments and turn them in on time."
Sixth Grade winner, Elijah Motta, wrote that he first learned about his favorite writer, Alex Haley, several years ago after watching Mama Flora's Family, a sequel to the mini-series Roots. "I also learned that blacks were abused for simple reasons and they lacked freedom, a privilege that we today take for granted. I thank Haley for using his writings to teach me my history" wrote Motta.
All participants in the Black History Month Essay contest were awarded Certificates of Participation, while winners in each grade were awarded an MP3 Player provided by Senator Buckley.
The office of Senator Buckley is excited to be working with the students and staff at Evelyn M Williams Elementary School and looks forward to future projects during her term.
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Senator Judi Buckley was inaugurated to the US Virgin Islands 30th Legislature in January of 2013. Senator Buckley ran as an Independent, received the most votes of any freshman senator and received the third highest votes overall. The Senator is a member of the committees on Finance, Housing & Government Services, Education and Public Safety/Homeland Security. For more information please visit www.JudiBuckley.com
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